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thedrifter
03-04-06, 07:40 AM
Families unite behind Arlington trio in Iraq
Saturday, March 04, 2006
Kevin Kidder
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Three military men, all from Upper Arlington, graduated from the same middle school. They traveled to Iraq on the same Navy ship, in the same unit. Now, they’re preparing to come back to the United States on that same ship. Although Navy Lt. Tim Burkhart, Marine 1 st Lt. Antonio Agnone and Marine Pfc. Bob Lane are all members of the 22 nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, they have never been together. But their families have. This week, their brothers, fathers, mothers and sisters gathered at Da Vinci Ristorante at Henderson and Reed roads and talked for hours.

They handed around photos. They talked about whether the men were already on the USS Nassau for the trip home. Burkhart and Lane were; Agnone is expected to join them before the ship comes home around May. They talked about the phone calls they get early in the morning, the only time the men can use the phone.

"Of course, the ultimate would be if all three of them could be here," said John Burkhart, father of Lt. Burkhart, a flight surgeon.

The families were brought together by Hastings Middle School teacher Bill Richards, a Navy veteran who discovered that the three men were together in the 22 nd.

He e-mailed all three, who traveled to Iraq last year, to tell them about the coincidence.

"It was beyond cool," Richards said.

He then called the families and organized a gathering, joining them for dinner Tuesday.

One of the first questions bandied about over salad and bread: How did these guys end up Marines and a sailor? And how did they end up in the 22 nd, which has been based in Iraq’s restive Al Anbar province?

Pfc. Lane, 18, had been eager to be a Marine, his mom, Dorothy Lane, told the others. He was so eager that his parents signed early enlistment papers when he was 17. He graduated early from Upper Arlington High School in January 2005 and went straight to boot camp.

"Bob is a very patriotic person," Mrs. Lane said.

Others had similar stories. Lt. Burkhart, 29, wanted to fly since he was 5, his father said. His mom, Maureen, said she explained to him before he enlisted that "lots of things can happen," not all of them good.

Joining the 22 nd was an easy decision for him.

"He didn’t want to sit behind a desk, and he didn’t want to be stuck on a ship," Mr. Burkhart said.

Lt. Agnone, 26, wanted "the toughest service," his mother, Charlie Agnone, recalled. He found it, as a recent television report made clear.

In January, Agnone and his platoon discovered more than 500 rockets, tank rounds and bomb parts in an Iraqi graveyard. Insurgents had hidden them in graves.

As they discussed all that their sons and brothers have experienced, the family members also thought about what they have gone through. The recent death of Marine Pfc. Jacob Spann, of Westerville, and two of his comrades in the 22 nd panicked Mrs. Agnone.

"I just came home and sat, and fell apart for a few hours," she said. When a neighbor knocked on her door to ask about a lost dog, she freaked.

"I was scared to death it would be something bad."

Other family members nodded in agreement.

As the meal ended, everyone agreed to keep in touch. Phone numbers were exchanged. Then they went into the lobby of Da Vinci’s for a group picture.

The photo will be e-mailed to Lt. Burkhart, Pfc. Lane and Lt. Agnone to enjoy as they sail back to America.

kkidder@dispatch.com

Ellie